Top 5 Sliver Companies For 2014

New research suggests that financial coaching can help low- and middle-income families in a lasting way.

Citi Foundation and NeighborWorks America on Tuesday reported the findings of the Financial Capability Demonstration Project, a $5 million, 2.5-year initiative begun in mid-2010.

The initiative significantly expanded the number of financial capability programs and practitioners that provide low- and moderate-income people with financial education, coaching and planning services needed to allow families nationwide to build savings, pay down debt and better manage their finances throughout their lives.

The report compared clients' financial status at the start of coaching with their status after coaching was under way:

To achieve the project’s goals, NeighborWorks America and the Citi Foundation supported access to training courses for 1,500 practitioners to increase their knowledge in creating and delivering effective financial capability and financial coaching programs.

Top Communications Equipment Companies For 2015: Endocan Corp (ENDO)

Endocan Corp, formerly The X-Change Corporation, incorporated on October 4, 2000, offers nutraceuticals and cosmetics in the United States. The Company provides lip balms, eczema moisturizing cream, sunscreen, and anti-ageing serum under the Phytiva brand name. The Company specializes in developing all natural, organic, bio hemp health, beauty, and cosmetics products.

The Phytiva serum uses only natural ingredients, including, but not limited to, hemp oil extract. The Company specializes in Cannabinoid-based extracts and products that target medical cannabis, nutraceutical, cosmeceutical, and social usage solutions through multiple Phytiva Brand product lines, products, and services.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Next Generation Energy Corp (OTCMKTS: NGMC) and Dutch Gold Resources, Inc (OTCMKTS: DGRI) are the latest small cap stocks to announce their entry into the marijuana business while peer Endocan Corp (OTCMKTS: ENDO) sees some paid promotions or investor relations activities, but otherwise remains quiet. So will investors and traders alike achieve a high with any of these small cap marijuana stocks? Here is a quick reality check:

Top 5 Sliver Companies For 2014: New York Mortgage Trust Inc.(NYMT)

New York Mortgage Trust, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States. The company engages in acquiring, investing, financing, and managing mortgage-related assets. It primarily invests in agency residential adjustable-rate, hybrid adjustable-rate, and fixed-rate mortgage-backed securities (RMBS); non-Agency RMBS; prime adjustable-rate residential mortgage loans held in securitization trusts; commercial mortgage-backed securities; commercial mortgage loans; and other commercial real estate-related debt investments. The company has elected to be taxed as a REIT and will not be subject to federal income tax if it distributes at least 90% of its REIT taxable income to its stockholders. New York Mortgage Trust, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Susan J. Aluise]

  LEN stock is only up about 3% in 2014, but it’s clearly a growth play. With a price-to-earnings-growth (PEG) ratio of just 0.6 and a forward P/E of a little more than�12, LEN stock looks undervalued now. LEN pays a nominal dividend with a 0.4% current yield, but the company knows its market and is positioning its new properties well, so LEN promises to be a solid buy-and-hold stock.

  REIT:�New York Mortgage�(NYMT)

  There are two basic types of REITs –�those that hold real property and those that hold mortgages on property (mortgage or mREITs). Among mREITs, New York Mortgage�(NYMT)�is a so-called ��ybrid mREIT�� meaning that it holds a combination of federally guaranteed (agency) and non-agency debt, like commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS).

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Investors are being rewarded for putting their trust in New York Mortgage Trust (NASDAQ: NYMT  ) . The REIT has declared a common stock dividend for its current quarter of $0.27 per share, to be paid on July 25 to shareholders of record as of June 28. That amount matches each of the company's preceding four distributions, the most recent of which was doled out at the end of April. Before that, it paid $0.25 per share.

• [By Amanda Alix]

  More mREITs stay the course, but two trim payouts
  Despite suffering many tumbles and bruises, several mREITs have announced that their dividends will be unchanged from the previous quarter. Several did so last week, and yesterday saw Hatteras Financial (NYSE: HTS  ) , an agency-only trust, keeping its own $0.70 per share�payout the same. Hybrid New York Mortgage Trust (NASDAQ: NYMT  ) also kept its dividend stable, at $0.27 per share, in line with its four most recent distributions.

• [By Lawrence Meyers]

  Next Page

  Preferred Stocks: New York Mortgage Trust (NYMT)

  Dividend Yield: 8.2%

  New York Mortgage Trust (NYMT) is a mortgage real estate investment trust, or mREIT, that acquires, invests in, finances and manages mortgage related securities. These mREITs are very much tied to interest rates, so while rates are low, the stocks will do well. NYMT common stock, in fact, yields more than 14%. Yet that�� why I would choose the New York Mortgage Trust 7.75% Preferred Series B (NYMTP).

Top 5 Sliver Companies For 2014: Amarok Energy Inc (AMR)

Amarok Energy Inc.(Amarok ), formerly Drako Capital Corp. (Drako) is Canada-based company, engaged in oil and natural gas exploration and development in North America and Colombia. The Company operates in Canada, United States and Colombia. On February 27, 2012, Drako announced the completion of the Qualifying Transaction. On August 22, 2012, Drako Capital Corp. acquired Trilateral Energy Ltd. As part of the business acquisition of Trilateral a net carried working interest of 5% in Block LLA-21 for the two oil wells to be drilled on the Block LLA-21 property was acquired. As part of the business acquisition of Trilateral, oil and gas lease rights located in Montana, USA were acquired. 6,204 net acres (6,949 gross acres) of leases have been secured and approximately seven miles of two-dimensional (2D) seismic was acquired. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Question (From Bill Miller of Legg Mason): The airline industry is plagued with terrible economics. With the pending merger with U.S. Air (LCC) and American (AMR)��the industry has been consistently profitable with double-digit returns. Do you think the industry�� improved economics are likely to improve?

• [By Dimitra DeFotis]

  A more temporary phenomenon beset airline stocks, with passenger revenue affected internationally by World Cup soccer mania. Leading the airline stocks lower were United Continental Holdings�(UAL),�Delta Air Lines (DAL) and American Airlines (AMR).

Top 5 Sliver Companies For 2014: Tesla Motors Inc.(TSLA)

Tesla Motors, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and sells electric vehicles and advanced electric vehicle powertrain components. It offers Tesla Roadster, an electric sports car. The company markets and sells its vehicles directly to consumers through the phone and Internet, as well as through its network of Tesla stores. It operates 18 Tesla stores located in Boulder, Chicago, Los Angeles, Menlo Park, Miami, New York, Newport Beach, San Jose, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Copenhagen, London, Milan, Monaco, Munich, Paris, Tokyo, and Zurich. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Well, GM has certainly built more Volts over the last six months or so and they've even sold a few more, too, but then so has Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA  ) and Nissan (NASDAQOTH: NSANY  ) . In fact Tesla sold more of its all-electric Model S cars in the first quarter of the year than GM did with its Volt, and Nissan turned itself around enough so that its LEAF outsold the Volt in March.

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  Looking beneath national numbers, eGallon's data are state-specific and constantly refreshing. With the cheapest gas prices around, South Carolina's $3.41 per gas gallon is 3.15 times its $1.08 electric equal. And Hawaii's most expensive electricity ($3.69 per gallon) still manages to squeeze under gasoline's $3.74. Using mileage data for the five top-selling electric vehicles in 2012 ��Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA  ) Model S, General Motors' (NYSE: GM  ) Chevy Volt, Nissan's Leaf, Ford's Focus, and BMW's ActiveE���the number cruncher compares these vehicles' costs to a gasoline car that averages 28.2 miles per gallon. The result? On average, it costs around three times less per gallon ($1.14) to put the pedal to the metal in an electric vehicle versus a gasoline-powered vehicle.

• [By Douglas A. McIntyre]

  Elon Musk, the most handsome and intelligent man in the world, faces an insurmountable task as he works to sharply increase sales of his Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) cars. The appetite for electric-powered vehicles in the United States is extremely small, and that is unlikely to change for years. For Tesla to be successful, it will need to introduce a hybrid, which at its heart is a gasoline-powered car. He may even have to launch a car that runs on a regular gasoline engine.